Doin' the happy dance for joy!

Published Jan 25, 2009

36 Posts

Specializes in Med/Surg.

I passed!!

(My OP here)

The last 48hrs have been the longest, ever... My heart was in my throat as I typed in my credit card info to get the online quick results... Hit "enter"... Didn't want to look! But I did, of course... and I saw that one beautiful word: "Passed"... and I laughed and I cried... whew!

In a recent thread, someone suggested to stay away from these boards while waiting, or think of other things... that's impossible, I couldn't think of anything else, and coming here and reading the messages showed me that I wasn't alone... and you guys alone could understand what it's like... :heartbeat that meant - means - a lot.

k, enough mush...

My test shut off at 76 questions... When I walked out of there, I had no idea as to whether I passed or failed. It wasn't for lack of studying; the questions are tough, and they really draw from your critical thinking skills, which is the whole point - an RN must be able to think things through, quickly, and under pressure. Kind of like the NCLEX! Anyway, I felt like I had guessed on most of the questions... and even weirder than that, afterward, I couldn't remember a single question in detail... like I had some kind of amnesia/fog about the actual time I was in front of that computer taking the exam, like it was surreal. If that makes any sense... I do remember that the test was heavy on prioritization and infection control, and I had about five sata questions (which I hate w/a passion), and no med calculations.

For studying, I had a few different NCLEX books w/CDs. The best, and most comprehensive one - hands down - is the "Comprehensive Review for NCLEX-RN" from Prentice Hall Nursing. It's even great to use as a study tool during nursing school (which is what I did) because it outlines everything you'll be learning in school. And the CD has 4,000 practice questions - the CD is the best of the others that I've tried out/used.

For quick review/reinforcement and good test-taking tips, I liked the "NCLEX-RN Review" by Marlene Hurst. This book condenses the "basic, what you need to know" info into a book that is actually smaller than the NY yellow pages... There's a whole section of helpful charts (like lab values, etc), and the pharmacology chapter was very helpful, I thought. She also goes into "how" to answer NCLEX questions... what they're looking for, etc.. I found some of her tips in there to be useful as well. The CD was mediocre, less than 200 questions, and her recorded "coaching"... I'm sorry, but I didn't last 10 seconds with her voice (no offense to the southern belles out there... a southern accent is usually nice to listen to, but hers is waaay over the top!).

Study prioritization/delegation!! I can't emphasize this enough. You will be hammered with "which patient would you see first?", or "what is your priority action?", or "what patient is most appropriate to assign to an LPN?" questions, and it wasn't just me - my classmates who have recently sat for NCLEX have said the same thing. The best book for studying that aspect is "Prioritization, Delegation, and Assignment: Practice Exercises for Medical-Surgical Nursing" by LaCharity, et al. I struggled with this area during school, so I knew that it was something I needed to really focus on when prepping for NCLEX, and I'm glad that I did, because it definitely helped me that day. I wouldn't have known of the book's existence had it not been a required text during my last semester of school, so I'm glad that it was required.

Anyway... that's all... just wanted to share my good news, and hopefully help those of you who are studying, or waiting for your results... don't give up, and believe in yourself! :heartbeat

Laura (RN!)